Karen Dalton and Yin Zhong look over works inspired by the Adirondacks.

Essex  An artist who has exhibited around the world came to Essex last week to do the same, this time for a cause.

Chinese painter Yin Zhong and his works were at the center of a recent College For Every Student (CFES) fundraising event, as the artist painted several landscapes of the region and auctioned them off along with other works to benefit the organization.

Yin was drawn to Westport by Yun Arbour, who lives in town and is a friend.

“When Yun joined the board of CFES, she wanted to do something and said that she knew an artist in China,” Karen Dalton of CFES said. “She wanted to do an art show and sale as a fundraiser, and she called Yin about it.”

“I am very honored to share my work and give my contribution to CFES,” Yin said through Arbour, who acted as his translator. “I think something that encourages kids in education is a grand venture.”

Yin said he has always painted, which was why he was approached by the Chinese military.

“I was chosen to paint the posters for the Army and for Chairman Yao during the cultural revolution of 1968-78,” Yin said. “I was to make portraits of our lives in the army to promote it to the people of the country.”

Yin has specialized in Chinese ink wash painting for the past 10 years. He had his first solo art show in Shanghai in 1995, followed by shows in Italy and Australia in 2009 and in Canada in 2010.

He said that it was how Arbour talked about the region that attracted him to come.

“She has been talking about the beauty of Essex and has always invited me to come over and see it for myself,” Yin said. “It is a precious experience just to be able to enjoy and appreciate the landscape of this area. I will continue to work on what I have seen here so I can share my feelings of what I have felt here through my works.”

Yin said the feature he finds most attractive about the Adirondacks is how everything goes together.

“What shocks me is the nature and the conservancy of the nature,” he said. “The buildings and the trees that are here are so perfectly conserved and that is amazing to me coming from Shanghai, which is a mega city.”